Thread by @JMichaelWaller

1) Stupendous article by a former Green Beret who lost his wife to ISIS. Insightful personal story about how President Trump best supports our troops. nbcnews.com/think/opinion/…

2) Pres Trump “asked me what I thought about Syria and what we were doing there. He talked to me —a Green Beret & a combat veteran, not some expert at the Pentagon or a think tank —about the wisdom leaving troops in harm's way once ISIS’ territorial caliphate had been destroyed.”

3) “It was clear to me that he was deeply conflicted about whether staying in Syria was worth the lives lost — Shannon and her three colleagues — on that day in January [2019].”

4) “President Trump’s actions have shown our troops more respect than any president in my lifetime.”

5) “His use of decisive military force only when absolutely necessary, combined with his reluctance to use the military as the sole tool of foreign policy, is not only good and smart, but the sign of utmost respect for the lives of our troops.”

6) “Since 9/11, America’s all-volunteer force has served under two presidents who were quick to ceremoniously praise our sacrifices without taking any real action to change the grinding status quo that has become the hallmark of the Global War on Terror.”

7) “Instead of asking hard questions about what we were gaining or could ever gain and taking action based on those answers, Global War on Terror Trump's predecessors fought wars with our troops in an effort to build new governments in Afghanistan and Iraq after 9/11....”

8) “... while letting the perpetrator of that terrorist attack escape to Pakistan (whose government we continue to support).”

9) Sounds like the geniuses at @ProjectLincoln: Former President Barack Obama may have offered eloquent rhetoric, but very little changed during his tenure from his predecessor, except that he also got us involved in the conflict in Syria.”

10) “Previous presidents’ support of endless wars has resulted in the loss of thousands of American lives & cost American taxpayers trillions of dollars, whereas President Trump’s limited use of military force & swift action when needed marks a decisive change from that policy.”

11) “Look no further than what happened to Qassem Soleimani: When Soleimani ordered an attack that killed an American in late 2019, President Trump immediately ordered a strike that killed him.”

12) Un-swamplike leader: “And this president has avoided getting us into any new wars — something his recent predecessors seemingly could either not avoid or not resist.”

13) “As both a veteran of our nation’s wars and a Gold Star spouse, I find that platitudes about respect for our nation’s troops from leaders without a strategy to keep us from getting into pointless or unwinnable wars are the highest form of disrespect.”

14) “Our troops and our nation deserve a president who has our best interests in mind, not just meaningless platitudes about our service meant to paint a rosy picture of war and destruction.” #NotJoeBiden

15) Joe Kent concludes: “America — and the men and women in uniform — need a president who will ask the hard questions about why we are fighting and dying and, yes, whether it was or will be worth it, and then will do his utmost to protect America, our troops, its military ...”